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This Thanksgiving...

John Helmberger

On this Thanksgiving, as I reflect on my twenty years at the helm of Minnesota Family Council, I’m so grateful to God for His many blessings to this ministry over the years. But there’s one defining blessing that stands out among them, that I’d like to share with you.

On an otherwise ordinary day early in my tenure as CEO of Minnesota Family Council, I received a message from our attorney that left me stunned.

 

I promptly called the chairman of our board to inform him of what I’d heard. Getting his voicemail, I left the following message: “You know the expression, ‘If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?’ Well, I was just told by our attorney that there isn’t enough evidence to convict MFC.”

Almost immediately, the board chair called me back, exclaiming, “You’ve got my attention!”

Passing the Baton

John Helmberger

From the desk of John Helmberger, CEO of Minnesota Family Council & Institute:

The United States track and field teams have a long history of success at the Olympics and in other world competitions, but they have had one consistent Achilles’ heel over the past 18 years: the baton hand-off. 

It seems like such a simple thing to pass a hollow aluminum tube from one person to another, but since 2005 the U.S. men’s 4x100-meter-relay team has either failed to finish or been disqualified from races due to bungled baton hand-offs eight times, including at the most recent Olympics.

The moral of the story? A good transition is harder than it looks.

At our 40th Anniversary Dinner on September 8th, we announced that MFC’s Church Ambassador Network Director Jeff Evans will succeed me as Chief Executive Officer of Minnesota Family Council and Minnesota Family Institute effective January 1st. I will continue to be an integral part of the organization in a part-time advisory role.

I am so excited about this new chapter for MFC, despite all the challenges ahead with our radicalized state government, not only because we have planned it carefully, but also because of who Jeff is and how he will lead this ministry into the future. This is truly God’s faithful answer to many years of prayer.

As Jeff takes on this leadership mantle, I am reminded of the words God gave Moses to commission his successor, Joshua, who would lead Israel across the Jordan to take possession of the land God has promised them:

Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land that the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall put them in possession of it. It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:7b-8)

While this was a particular call on the life of Joshua, the themes fit with where we are right now. God is calling Jeff to be strong and courageous as he takes the baton from me and carries forward with the race.

This race isn’t a sprint – it’s a marathon. We’re in it for the long haul, to fight for life, family, and religious freedom year after year, as long as they are challenged by those who choose darkness over light, selfishness over compassion and pride over humility.

Each new year feels like entering into a new land, held by those who have aligned themselves against the Lord’s commands. Each new legislative session is a challenge to take back ground that has been lost … and the Lord knows we lost a lot of ground earlier this year.

That’s why it’s so important for Jeff to be strong and courageous. But not just Jeff – all of us who want to shine a light for Christ in Minnesota. Each of us must be strong in our own communities, to have courage to speak for what is right and good.

As I hand over the reins, I want to remind both Jeff and you of who you are in Christ, of the promise of His presence, His protection, and His victory. So while the name on emails from us will soon change, what matters most never will. We have a firm foundation, a sacred calling to do this work, and a certain future.

We are also blessed to have an amazing team of co-laborers who will work alongside Jeff to carry on the fight for life, family and religious freedom into our next 40 years, and a broad network of friends and supporters who make it all possible.

I am so thankful for how generous you have been during my time as CEO, and with so much at stake, I ask now that you continue that generosity into Jeff’s tenure with a gift of $50, $100, $150, or even more as God leads. Will you encourage him right now, showing him that you will stand behind him just as you’ve done for me?

For Life, Family, and Religious Freedom,

John Helmberger

Born Alive, Allowed to Die? Jean's Story

John Helmberger

“This is how I spent my shift that day, holding him,” Jean told us. “I was gazing at his perfect face as he took his last breaths and passed to the next life.”

The rest of Jean’s story will leave you outraged. Why? Because the baby in question had survived an abortion and was given no medical care, to ensure that he died.

Baby Boy Doe’s story comes from a registered nurse named Jean who previously worked in the NICU (newborn intensive care unit) at a large hospital in the Twin Cities. Jean was asked to attend an abortion since the pregnancy was far enough along that a live birth was possible and her training may be required.

The mother-to-be had tragically just been diagnosed with cancer and been told – incorrectly – that to undergo cancer treatment she must terminate her pregnancy. She was judged to be about 23 weeks gestation, right around the earliest point of viability, but no ultrasound was ordered to confirm this guess or the position of the baby in the uterus.

The Years Without Thanksgiving

John Helmberger

Do you know about the "years without Thanksgiving?" Last year we celebrated the 400th anniversary of the First Thanksgiving in 1621. As you know, Thanksgiving has been celebrated in one form or another ever since. You probably also know that Presidents Washington and Lincoln issued famous Thanksgiving Proclamations, in 1789 and 1863 respectively.

But you may not be aware of the "years without Thanksgiving," during which our national leaders refused to publicly acknowledge the gifts of God in the way that both the Pilgrims and George Washington had done. The History Channel explains:

Thomas Jefferson, the third president, felt that public demonstrations of piety to a higher power, like that celebrated at Thanksgiving, were inappropriate in a nation based in part on the separation of church and state. Subsequent presidents agreed with him. In fact, no official Thanksgiving proclamation was issued by any president between 1815 and the day Lincoln took the opportunity to thank the Union Army and God for a shift in the country’s fortunes on this day in 1863.

(It's a little ironic to describe the nation as being "based...on the separation of church and state" while discussing Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson coined the phrase, but he would have known - as do you and I - that this phrase appears nowhere in our founding documents). 

There was a time period of almost fifty years, then, in which our presidents refused to publicly give thanks. We know that refusing to give thanks is sin (Romas 1:20-22), and it's sad to think that our nation was once unable to do this officially, although of course many individual American families did give thanks every day for their blessings.

Thankfully, Thanksgiving didn't remain in the wilderness forever. You've probably read President Lincoln's famous declaration (actually written by Secretary of State William Seward), which reads in part:

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States...to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that... they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience...fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

 Oh, how I wish that our modern-day presidents would acknowledge and repent of our "national perverseness and disobedience" instead of the bland and inoffensive pronouncements that they reheat and reissue year after year! Because it seems to be that we, like President Lincoln, are living through a time when understanding and repenting of our sins as a nation will bring great blessings. 

We are also, sadly, living under leaders who, like President Jefferson, do not see the true value of thanksgiving - certainly not Thanksgiving with repentance.

I pray you and your family enjoy a blessed, peaceful, ample Thanksgiving. I hope you take time to give thanks not just for the blessings you enjoy personally, but for the blessings God has poured out on the great state of Minnesota, and on this great nation.

Moreover, I hope you will pray with me that the "years without Thanksgiving" would come to an end again - that God would give us better leaders than we deserve, leaders who would lead us not in hubris but in repentance, and not in pride but in...Thanksgiving.

To Those Who Serve - Thank You

John Helmberger

This Veteran’s Day, we at Minnesota Family Council want to express our sincerest gratitude and honor to those currently serving, and those who have served, our great nation.

These heroic men and women wear their uniforms every day with both the honest pride of joining the ranks of those who came before them as well as the humility of the great burden they carry--protecting us and all the freedoms we cherish.

Communicate Your Pro-Life Position

John Helmberger

A Message to Pro-Life Candidates

As you know, both pro-life and pro-abortion voters are extremely invested in the life issue, and in the outcome of this fall’s election. That makes it more important than ever to address this sensitive issue with truth and compassion, communicating your position respectfully and clearly to voters on all sides of this issue.

Every candidate should remember that pro-life Minnesotans make up a large portion of the electorate in every district. They want to see and hear your clear leadership on the life issue. Many of them will be dismayed if you ignore the abortion issue rather than clearly and respectfully communicating your position, and could even decide to stay home in November.

Remember, the best recent polls (here and here) indicate that a supermajority of Minnesotans do NOT support Minnesota’s current extreme abortion laws permitting abortion any time for any reason up to the moment of birth. Fully 68.2% of Minnesotans support at least limits on abortion if not an outright ban in most cases (41.4%). Only 30.1% of Minnesotans want abortion to be legal without any limitations. And yet, almost no pro-abortion candidates in Minnesota support any limitations on abortion, making theirs the real extreme position.

BREAKING NEWS: Minnesota Family Council Applauds Supreme Court Decision in Dobbs v. Jackson

John Helmberger

MINNEAPOLIS – As pro-life people in Minnesota and across the country rejoiced at the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Minnesota Family Council CEO John Helmberger issued this statement on the Court’s decision, released today in Washington, DC.

“This is a historic day for our nation, but amidst all the headlines, it’s important to keep the actual significance of this decision front and center. Because of this decision, fewer children in the womb will be lost to abortion in the coming days. Because of this decision, predatory clinics like Planned Parenthood will be able to target fewer women at their most vulnerable. Because of this decision, more women will understand what is really at stake in an abortion decision and resolve to bring their pregnancy to term.”

“Make no mistake, women who are experiencing a pregnancy for which they’re not prepared are truly in a hard place. Their voices need to be heard, and their needs must be met. But now, my hope is that we can begin to address this difficult situation in a less destructive way. I hope we can show each woman and each child that we value them. I hope that we can create a nation where each expectant mother can confidently say she has the support she needs through pregnancy and childbirth—a nation, in other words, in which the brutality of abortion is unthinkable. I believe that a future in which life is truly protected in Minnesota, instead of a future where our great state becomes an abortion mecca, is what Minnesotans want, and what they will work towards—and I believe we will see this conviction in election results this fall.”

Notes from the Frontlines: What We Saw at SCOTUS

John Helmberger

It was thrilling to be present at a pro-life rally on the steps of the Supreme Court of the United States this week while oral arguments for the Dobbs v. Jackson case were going on inside. I had a sense that our team and I were truly living through history. I hope to soon be able to tell my grandchildren, “I was outside when the Supreme Court charted a course for LIFE in this country.”

One thing that struck me was the contrast between the pro-life crowd on one side, and the pro-abortion crowd on the other, separated by a metal barricade erected by the Capitol police, although in reality there were many pro-lifers on the other side of the fence, because pro-lifers had a vast advantage in numbers.

But the difference went beyond the size of the two crowds. You could see it on their faces and hear it in their voices. Both sides saw the same thing coming - the approaching fall of the pro-abortion regime thrust on our nation by the Court’s abominable Roe v. Wade ruling nearly 49 years ago - but they reacted very differently to that prospect.

Looking at the pro-life side, there were smiles and looks of hopeful anticipation. Voices were cheerful and I even heard hymns sung. I saw signs asking for compassion for the unborn and for women.

Letter from our CEO: The Last Plane Out Of Afghanistan

John Helmberger

If all goes as planned, the US military presence at Kabul International Airport will end on August 31, 2021. U.S. citizens and Afghan nationals who are eligible for transport out of the country have until that time (if they’re lucky enough to get through the Taliban cordon around the airport) to leave the country.

That’s why I'm sending out this urgent appeal. Do you know of any American citizens, for example missionaries, or Afghan citizens who are eligible for Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) to leave the country?